Recipe: Crock Pot Pintos

We are a Mexican food lovin' family!  We love it all...burritos, tacos, enchiladas, chalupas...you name it and we will probably eat with some salsa on top.  Pinto beans is at the very top of the list.  I have been eating pinto beans for as long as I can remember.  Is it a southern thing or Texas thing?  I am not sure, but they are so good.  I have always made my pintos the traditional way by soaking the beans overnight and cooking them on the stove top with some sort of ham bone or ham hock.  While the beans taste so yummy, it takes some time to make.  

One day, I was cruising through Six Sister's Stuff blog and came across a crock pot recipe for refried beans.  One of my girl's favorite snack is bean and cheese burritos, but I really don't like the refried beans in a can.  There is no telling what kinds of preservatives are in the canned version.  As much as I like the homemade method sometimes I don't have hours to babysit a pot of beans.  That is why this recipe is now the only way I make pinto beans/refried beans. I gotta tell you, the beans are so good that I make them at least once a week.  By the end of the cooking time, the beans are perfectly seasoned, the onions are so tender and the beans have just the right texture.  When you smash up the beans to make them "refried" the onions are so soft that they mash as well and this gives the beans the most awesome flavor.  My girls love to eat the onions from the pot.  On the days I make them, I bribe my children into good behavior and tell them they won't get any onions if they don't behave.  Now, how weird is that??  But, it works!

Give these a try and you too will never go back to beans out of a can.  Enjoy!

Crock Pot Pintos

(adapted from Six Sister's Stuff)

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1 onion, peeled and halved

3 cups dry pinto beans, rinsed

2 tbsp minced garlic

3 tsp salt

1 3/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper

1 tsp ground cumin (optional)

5 cups water 

4 cups chicken broth

Place the onions, rinsed beans, garlic, salt, pepper and cumin in the crock pot.  Pour in the water and chicken broth; stir to combine. Cook on high for 4-8 hours, adding more water if needed. 

Note: if more than 1 cup of water has evaporated during cooking, then the temperature is too high.

To make the refried beans, strain the beans once they are cooked, reserving the liquid. Mash the beans with a potato masher, adding the reserved water as needed to get the desired consistency. 


Linked To:
*My Sweet and Savory: My Meatless Monday
*11th Heaven's Homemaking Haven: Homemaker Monday 
*Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker: Your Recipe, My Kitchen
*Dining with Debbie: Crock Pot Wednesday